Mumps spreading across Midwest college campuses

May 8, 2006

KALAMAZOO--With about 2,000 cases reported and counting, the
United States is experiencing its largest outbreak of mumps since
the 1980s, and many of those taken ill are college students,
almost exclusively in the Midwest.

Most of those taken ill are in Iowa, where the outbreak was
first reported in December 2005, and in five of the states surrounding
Iowa. A few cases were reported in the past two weeks as far
away as Franklin & Marshall College in eastern Pennsylvania.

No case of mumps has been reported in Kalamazoo, but students,
faculty and staff at Western Michigan University should take
precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the disease, according
to officials at WMU's Sindecuse Health Center.

Mumps is a viral illness that causes fever, tiredness and
swelling of the salivary glands, located under the ears. Mumps
is rarely life threatening, but it is uncomfortable and can occasionally
cause serious complications, especially when accompanied by high
fever.

A very contagious virus, mumps is spread by droplets of saliva
from coughing, sneezing or kissing. It also can be contracted
by touching a doorknob or other object that has been exposed
and then touching your eyes or mouth.

WMU students should review their vaccination records--small
yellow booklets--to determine if they received the vaccinations
for mumps. Students should have received two separate "MMR"
shots. The two-shot combination is reported to be more than 90
percent effective in preventing infection. Those who have not
received both shots and those who are not sure about their vaccination
status, should go to the Sindecuse Health Center and receive
a vaccination.

Before an effective vaccine was developed in the late 1960s,
there were typically 100,000 to 200,000 cases of mumps reported
annually in the United States.